An information designer's dream site.

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This one's for you, Buddha.

J!NX :: Gamers, Geeks & Hackers

And a fantastic collection of bumper stickers for total geeks:
J!NX :: Gallery

I just like the cartoon.

gapingvoid: useful imprecision

Sure, call me a Luddite

...but I don't see what's wrong with sticks.

Electric Marshmallow Toaster

World Sunlight Map

I'm addicted to wood s lot.

I have no idea how I stumbled on this blog, but it's absolutely the thickest, richest one I've ever seen. More like an online library than a paltry little blog. Poetry, essays, critiques... absolutely amazing. Like this recent entry - a quote from Gaston Bachelard:

I am a dreamer of words, of written words. I think I am reading; a word stops me. I leave the page. The syllables of the word begin to move around. Stressed accents begin to invert. The word abandons its meaning like an overload which is too heavy and prevents dreaming. Then words take on other meanings as if they had the right to be young. And the words wander away, looking in the nooks and crannies of vocabulary for new company, bad company.

::: wood s lot ::: "the fitful tracing of a portal"

Marlon Brando's bongos in your living room WOULD be pretty damned cool.

Amy's Robot: Dead Marlon's Stuff

Prob'ly won't happen

...but if I'm ever murdered, please let Damien Hirst know he's welcome to my death scene photos.

Telegraph :: Family outrage as Hirst plans 'sick' picture of murder scene

I couldn't describe it better myself.

The linkbunnies review yourgoingtohell.com.

linkbunnies.org :: Ladles and jellyspoons, I give you - yourgoingtohell.com

Fascinating.

Need free online graph paper? The Buddhist Heart Sutra? The 2003 AIGA salary survey? The Church of Satan Info Pack?

Step right up to this (unintentionally) surreal little fount of PDF docs.

Yummy! Personal PDF Library

Quote of the day.

"They're using their ass cracks as a lure for attention and love."

observer.com :: We're Nude York, Nude York!
(thanks for the tip, CG!)

Fab (kinda) found objects.

Feeding my insatiable appetite for weird found thingies.

(I'll save you some trouble - click on the black dog to navigate forward.)

web wunderkammer :: wunder pages

"What is your favourite occupation?
I'd have to say Occupied France was probably the best. Don't you think? They hardly trashed the city at all."

Design Indaba :: Chip Kidd

2005 RCA student art show, Like Nowhere Else

Two lovely pieces from the product design section.
(They really need a web designer for their site, though. Yikes.)

Birdland by Roger Arquer

Bottle Hanger by Julien Buisson

I don't even want to work today.

I could sit here and watch vids all day. Nancy Sinatra, Royksopp, OK GO! (an adorable little pop band out of Chicago), The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, Procol Harum....and a squillion other things. Ugh! MUST. WORK.

videos.antville.org

Old bookmarks.

Just ran across this while cleaning out my bookmarks. It's one of my faves.

Men In Hats :: Online Comic

great t-shirt.

il deboscio

Proof that TV makes me smarter.

I was watching an episode of "House" yesterday -- they mentioned something called a "myoclonic jerk," the strange muscle jerk that sometimes happens when you're just falling asleep. I never knew it had a name. Turns out the ones that specifically relate to falling asleep are "hypnic jerks." But no matter. Thank you, House.

Opentopia Encyclopedia :: Hypnic jerk

Who knew?

LS&ESSI - Lightning Strike & Electric Shock Survivors International, Inc.

Huh?

Well, if it's got a CPU it MUST work...

Shiny Shiny :: Boob Enhancer

Shame my laptop is a dino.

These are ace.

:: Schtickers.com - Product Info

I wouldn't know.

But apparently no one uses the Y-front properly.
(From Ricky Gervais of BBC's "The Office.")

rickygervais.com :: Bears - Episode 2

Hey, bloggers.

Take the MIT survey.

Clear tape people.

Sounds dull, but they're kind of fascinating.

My faves:
Boy & girl
Baby

View more here:
Mark Jenkins :: Street Installations

azcentral.com :: Drivers get tickets at meters installed after they parked

Yes, I know this is everywhere right now.

But it made me laugh, so I'm posting it. So there.

Stuff On My Cat

Health Watch: Four Silent Killers

Brought to you by McSweeney's:

1) Carbon Monoxide
2) The B-2 Stealth Bomber
3) Reification
4) Ninjas

Help out a blog. Maybe win a Freitag.

Treehugger Reader Survey :: Win A Freitag

Journalism at its finest.

Oy.

msnbc.com :: Saddam guards describe his Doritos habit - Ex-leader hates Froot Loops, loves Raisin Bran

"...the only sane response...

Pearls Before Swine

A public service announcement.

Courtesy of 2lmc.

2lmc :: a word about your mobile phone.

grin

grin
Originally uploaded by swissmiss.

This pic made my day.

My new tiny little sculpture.

Such a homely, fun little guy.

Today's winner of the Grossest & Weirdest Headline.

livescience.com :: Giant Balls of 'Snot' Explain Ocean Mystery

Notice (via linkbunnies.org)

This one's for you, swissmiss.

Chickens Suit :: Collection 05

New art for the new pad.

I bought two pieces of art today at the Lakefront Festival. When I got them home I realized I must be in a very Brothers Quay sorta mood because they both have a surreal puppet thing going on. Hmm

Anyway, I love 'em.

Kenneth Payne :: Deux ex machina
(check out his other work, too - really beautiful)

My tiny new sculpture isn't online, but here's the artist's site:
L. Chamberlain :: Simple Works

The Story of Man

File under "Yes, I'm a dork."

Surprisingly interesting for a little story about a hermaphroditic crab. (I hope you can view it without having to register.)

washingtonpost.com :: Part Male, Part Female, Fully Mysterious

A belated Bloomsday present for the monk.

Ulysses for Dummies :: Animated gifs representing each chapter of Ulysses

It's not just me that finds the Coldplay phenomenon tiresome.

SFGate.com :: Is Coldplay The New Jesus? Martin & Co. make moms smile and girls swoon and offend no one in their quest to love all puppies

toothpaste for dinner :: hey jealousy

Lovely packaging and web design.

(via cool hunting)

innocent drinks :: fresh fruit smoothies and other healthy drinks

BTW

There is no reason that one should have to wear fleece on June 17 to stay warm.

Oh, no. No, no.

Man kills self by sealing mouth, nose with super glue

There are no words

...to describe this cycling thread and its flaming downward spiral.
(via b3ta.com)

Lonely Planet Online | The Thorn Tree

Doing a nickel in a Sri Lanka prison. For fun.

Uh. No thanks.

The Daily News reported Thursday that Galle prison -- built in a centuries-old fort that is now a United Nations world heritage site -- would be developed into a tourist site.

Quoting Southern Province governor Kingsley T. Wickremaratne, the state-owned paper said guests would have to abandon their holiday finery on check-in and would be issued with prison uniforms for the duration of their stay.

Reuters.com | Oddly Enough :: I'm off on vacation for 3-5 years...

One of my favorite Milwaukee things.

And I'm actually going to be able to make it this year. Yay!

Lakefront Festival of Arts

Cool.

Yahoo's Flickr, an online community site and photo service, is readying to launch a print-on-demand service, internetnews.com reports; it has also learned that Flickr will partner with Qoop, which has not yet itself launched, to offer the service that allows users to select photos and formats to be printed into bound books. Those who want to publish such books with Qoop technology will be able to sell them on their own websites or through online ads, including a link that takes the buyer to Qoop for payment processing, ordering and fulfillment.

MarketingVOX :: Yahoo's Flickr to Team with Qoop for Photo Printing

Ooh. Now here's a shocker.

Principal urges teachers to pass students to meet quota

Prob'ly Photoshopped, but amusing nonetheless.

Small Ads from the UK

More robots.

I love robots. (sigh.)

Bennett Robot Works

Tableware with personality.

the GORGIES :: a unique tableware design

Strange children.

I keep running across Loretta Lux's work. Very eerie and mesmerizing.

Artkrush :: Girl with Marbles

Loretta Lux web site

The All-New Sesame Street

Boobapalooza?

My bud, Lorraine, just emailed me to tell me she heard a commercial for this down in Tampa. Ick. And ish.

933 FLZ | the #1 hit music channel | .this is 933flz.com

This time it's not a hoax.

Public Broadcasting Targeted By House
Panel Seeks to End CPB's Funding Within 2 Years
By Paul Farhi, Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 10, 2005

A House subcommittee voted yesterday to sharply reduce the federal government's financial support for public broadcasting, including eliminating taxpayer funds that help underwrite such popular children's educational programs as 'Sesame Street,' 'Reading Rainbow,' 'Arthur' and 'Postcards From Buster."

In addition, the subcommittee acted to eliminate within two years all federal money for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting -- which passes federal funds to public broadcasters -- starting with a 25 percent reduction in CPB's budget for next year, from $400 million to $300 million.

Read the story:
Washington Post :: Public Broadcasting Targeted By House

Sign the MoveOn.org petition:
MoveOn.org :: Save NPR & PBS

Oh, ewwwwww.

BBC NEWS :: Rings of bone grown for couples

YesButNoButYes :: Church Sign Spam

Fainting goats. Watch the video.

Fainting goats are a slightly smaller version of the standard goat, who, believe it or not, thanks to a genetic condition called myotonia congenita, actually seem to faint when they are startled.

shey.net reblog :: Fainting Goats

Best sentence?

...the poll finds many women would be OK with that. An even greater percentage of them say they would be up for the switch.

azcentral :: 38% of French men wish they could get pregnant

Head to head with Go Fug Yourself.

Utter Wonder :: Fashion Highs and Lows of the Westboro Baptist Church.

McSweeney's Internet Tendency :: Things Heard During John Cage's Folsom Prison Performance of "4'33"."

Products for the "illness-wary lifestyle."

well design :: products

I'm sure I'd get writer's block, too. But I want to be a fortune cookie copywriter now.

At first, the writing came easily. Finding inspiration in sources ranging from the I Ching to the Post, Lau cranked out three or four maxims a day, between scrutinizing spreadsheets and monitoring the company's inventory of chow mein. I'd be on the subway and look up at the signs and think, "Hey, that would make a great fortune," he said. (One such adage: "Beware of odors from unfamiliar sources.") I'd keep a small notebook and jot down whatever came to me. I don't think I ever sat in front of the computer and said, "I am going to write ten fortunes right now." It has to come naturally.

The New Yorker :: Odd Jobs Department - Cookie Master

Oh, no.

I'm glad chickens can't read.

McMurray Hatchery :: Meat-N-Egg Combo

A lovely way to start a Monday.

Utata :: presents :: TRAINS

Museum street banners for your house.

Damn. If I had the bucks, I'd be all over this:

BetterWall is your exclusive source for authentic, limited-edition street banners from museums around the world. When you buy a banner from BetterWall, you get a unique, dramatic work of art to display in your home. But, your purchase means much more! A percentage of the proceeds of every banner sold through betterwall.com goes back to the museum. Be a part of BetterWall’s community of discriminating buyers who care about good design and supporting the arts.

BetterWall :: Your Exclusive Source for Limited-Edition Museum Banners
(via Land+Living)

Buy & donate.

I splurged and bought a quilt from Garnet Hill this morning. Before checking out, I went searching for a free shipping coupon. Didn't find free shipping, but I did find this -- Benevolink. Buy something from one of their vendors, and the vendor donates to your favorite local or national charity. It takes a minute to register, then it's no different than shopping online anyway. 6% of my purchase went to the Milwaukee Rescue Mission. (There are dozens upon dozens of Milwaukee charities in their database.) So cool.

Benevolink :: You Buy The Things You Want. Your Favorite Charity Gets The Things It Needs.

(p.s. It's a BBB Certified program.)

My poor brother.

He moved to Pensacola last summer for nicer weather. Not so much. (Hope you and Katy still have electricity, Pedder...)

Yahoo! News :: Panhandle Pounded As Arlene Nears Coast

Nervous much?

CHICAGO - An airline passenger's MP3 player and three vials harmless herbal remedies led to an emergency landing at O'Hare International Airport, the evacuation of 74 passengers and crew and a search of the plane Tuesday by the Chicago Police bomb squad.

AP Wire :: MP3 player, herbal remedies lead to emergency landing at O'Hare

Doggy backpack.

If it actually looked like a backpack, I'd get one, write the names of bands on it and send it to my favorite little hound, Bogey, to impress the chicks down in Florida...

Carol Wright Gifts :: Dog Backpack

Fantastic.

Why don't you love me?
Originally uploaded by samideluxe.

My fabulous buddy (and hookup for imported English makeup!), Samideluxe, snapped this one. I *love* it. Check out the rest of her flickr photos, too. So worth it.

Sometimes CL is like hearing a pal tell a really good story.

craigslist.org :: to my ex and his impending lack of sex

Candy concepts by design students.

(A mid-term project during winter term 2004/2005 at the KISD Köln International School of Design.)

A minor alteration of this product achieves an immense effect. The “noobs” are produced through placing two brown chocolate eyes on small white chocolate marshmallows. The intention is to achieve a maximum result through the smallest possible expenditure from a creative and technical point of view. The second time one looks at the product, one realises the effects of the alteration. A simple chocolate marshmallow has become a product that creates emotions.

Look into their innocent eyes and try to see the world from the “noob's” perspective for a moment , and then eat one.

noobs

View all the candy here:
sweet dreams

Grown up paintings from kids' drawings.

Surprisingly cool.

Dave Devries's Monster Engine

Signal vs. Noise :: Hungry?

Clientcopia : Coping with stupid clients

Great Threadless t-shirt.

Threadless T-Shirts :: Emotional Trip, by Glenn Flanagan-Dutton

Wow.

Other artwork by Greyworld, the Bins & Benches installation folks.

Greyworld :: Artworks

I dunno. I kinda like it.

Adrants:: 'Let's Hug It Out, Bitch' Street Postings Promote HBO's 'Entourage'

Gorgeous old ads.

I love this one, even if I have no idea what an anthropomorphic pickle, industrial lubricants and Heinz 57 have to do with each other.

EphemeraNow.com :: Mister Pickle takes a dip

View all:
EphemeraNow.com :: Gallery

(via coudal.com, possibly the best design-y blog in the world)

This makes me happy.

The benches love to be sat on - it makes them particularly happy in fact, and they often take up position in new spaces to make themselves more attractive to potential human sitters. Sometimes, when it rains, they move themselves to drier, shadier areas of the square. To attract potential human sitting folk, they like to form patterns - the benches moving in to shapes in the centre of the piazza.

The bins are also free to roam the piazza, but they are a little more solitary, preferring their own company, and a little quiet space to occupy. It's a tough life being a bin, and they like to contemplate their humble lot on their own.

There's one other thing to note about this free spirited furniture. When the mood takes them, perhaps when the weather is fine, or most of the bench clan are being sat on, they like to burst in to song. Sometimes, small clusters gather together and sing a tight six-part harmony, and occasionally, though much more rarely due to their shyness, the bins join in with their sweet soprano voices.

Each bench drifts slowly around the square, no faster than a strolling human, and is equipped with sensors that detect the presence of objects in its immediate vicinity, coming to a complete halt when any object is closer than two metres.

Urban Junction :: Greyworld:
Bins & Benches

BBC News Story:
BBC NEWS :: Singing benches let loose in city

Need more drama in your life?

Needies :: Like Rain on a Sunshiny Day

Interesting.

"Hermit crabs routinely take over shells that have been vacated by their fellows. Periodically, multiple crabs will locate a single new shell by smell simultaneously. When this occurs, a choreographed activity may take place. The crabs line up next to each other, according to size, with the largest situated next to the new, recently fondled dwelling. The largest crab will then vacate its shell in favor of the new one. The shell that has just been emptied will be passed to the crab next in size down the line. This crab will look it over and possibly adopt it, in turn handing its own shell down to the crab next in size, and so on. The practice is precise and fast, resulting in the greatest number of crabs achieving properly fitting homes while affording all the least amount of time spent outside their shells, unsheltered from predators."

Cabinet Magazine Online :: The Hand Up Project: Attempting to Meet the New Needs of Natural Life-Forms

flickr :: flickr schwag 1.0, baby!

Oh. My. Lord.

Looking for sperm? Buy some online.

Fairfax Cryobank

Illegal Art :: Visual Gallery

More robots.

flickr :: coolrobot

New robot.

Gizmodo :: World's First "Tasting" Robot

So which sign of the apocalypse is this?

I lose track...

cnn :: Ronald McDonald becomes fitness guru

Yay!

Our "Series 13" work (4th thumbnail under "Commerce") is up for a Flashforward2005 award. Very, very cool.

[Flashforward >> Festival Finalists]

Sly sez, "Have some pudding."

Instone Nutrition

Hard learned lessons in marketing.

The bigger the effort to woo the client, the more embarrassing the consequences if your bid fails.

It's not looking good, but good luck anyway, NY. You can always remove the sign and stomp on it.

Big-ass Olympic Bid sign

Oh, maaaaaan.

More stuff to buy.

Wonderful Graffiti

Awww.

Our beloved Timmy's beloved Megan has a lovely "Stripes" tie for sale on nakedandangry.com. Lucky boy, that Timmy.

Naked & Angry - You'll love it so much, you'll forget to put on the rest of your clothes.

I'm getting some of these.

Love 'em!

Egglings

Ananova :: Clothing for chickens

Bizarre optical illusion.

Rapid afterimage

Man delivers 4 pizzas after getting shot

Cool. I still have time.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | The age of 50 marks authors' peak

Brand research.

I was doing brand research on the Dyson Vacuum when I ran across this. It's an old story, but it made me laugh, so I'm bloggin' it.

IT WAS an unprovoked attack on a man in his own home by an assailant whose identity was never in doubt. [...] But Norman Grant knew that he had little chance of securing a conviction when he was set upon by his new vacuum cleaner and thrown down the stairs.

The Times Online :: Victim wins £10,000 over sucker blow from a Dyson:

Our disposable world.

gizmag.com :: World's first disposable digital camcorder

Fun art.

Justine Smith

Good to know

...that in our "secure" digital world, we need only worry about them losing the backup tapes in transit. Sheesh.

DMNews.com :: CitiFinancial Warns 3.9 Million Customers of Computer Tape Loss

Wow.

Last month's celebration of the 100th anniversary of Jules Verne's death:

Residents of Nantes, France woke to a space capsule crashed into a smoking pile of rubble in the central square of the city. Later that day, a giant animatronic elephant and entourage of the Sultan paraded into town to visit the mayor. [...] On Saturday, the capsule opened to reveal a giant animatronic girl who walked through the streets, mischievously sewed a row of parked cars to the street with a shipping Hauser rope, rode a scooter, and even asked that the crowd give her some privacy while she used the toilet.

Royal de Luxe

Fantastically weird furniture.

Some ugly, some fantastic. Check out the cabinets and projects.

Straight Line Designs :: Unique Furniture - Vancouver, Canada

Smart design.

Scientistic Invitational by IDSA-LA :: Winners

Funny quiz.

Quiz: Art or Crap

Great name. Great stuff.

The Products and Graphics sections are fab.

SUPERHAPPYBUNNY :: graphic product design studio, Los Angeles

Designer sick bags.

You have to love Virgin Airlines. (The contest was awhile ago, but this is the first time I've seen the gallery of finalists.)

virgin atlantic :: design for chunks

Simple and fun.

Playsam :: scandinavian design wooden toys

Many, many lovely things

...in the "Objects" section.

::: Bleach Design :::

New to me, too.

All the cool kids are trying it...

Ektopia :: Sonic Finger's Dead Quietenator Audio Plugin

Here's one for you, Mark.

Your girl's got a new series. With any luck, it'll only take a year or two to get to the States...

Families Online :: Nigella Lawson's New Television Series

It's Tour de France season.

Always a crazy time for us here at the studio, working for Trek. But this year it's particularly fun to watch the Lance machine set in motion.

adage.com :: LANCE ARMSTRONG'S LAST RACE SPAWNS AD EXTRAVAGANZA

These are horrible.

Check out the Guardian Angel line of the '05 collection.

Vlieger & Vandam

Welcome to the blogging community, T!

swissmiss blog

National Geographic :: Standing Panda is big in Japan

I'd no idea. Eww.

Yes, the reef story is bogus, but this tidbit was interesting/gross, from a Milwaukeean's point of view.

In 2003, for example, the Associated Press reported on efforts by the city of Milwaukee to prevent used condoms from floating into Lake Michigan [...]:

"Workers for the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Commission said they found only 50 or 60 condoms in the harbor after the fisherman's complaints, but the district has been paying an average of $460 per day for an employee to scoop spent condoms with long-handled nets from tanks at a wastewater treatment plant.

Crews also scoop any prophylactics from the lake."

Snopes.com :: Condom Reef

Mark your calendar.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts :: June 3rd is Free Doughnut Day

"We've got to stop issuing vague warnings...''

Welcome to the world of information design, fellas. My name's BB, and I live here. Have a nice day.

Bloomberg.com :: U.S. House Votes to Replace Color-Coded Terror Threat Warnings

A great pairing of images and concepts.

Click on "Preview the book" then "Reacting." Click through the photos from there.

thoughtlessacts | jane fulton suri | IDEO | design thinking

The caption says it all.

Snog Blog :: Worst Logo Ever

The World's Biggest Sandwich

I *love* this rug.

j.milo | net rug

From our not-too-distant past

[shakes and hangs head]

Gizmodo :: PETA Wednesday - WWII Bat Bombs

Shamelessly skanked from Czeltic Girl.

I can't help it, CG. Must share. (Note for the squeamish: Skip the Anal-Eze review. Trust me.)

You have to admire his OCD. 11 pages of bogus reviews? Brilliant.

Amazon.com :: Smith T. Aames - Reviews

The joke here is just too obvious.

I think the person that wrote the story had a bet going about how many times s/he could use the phrase "cross the road."

BBC NEWS :: US chicken ducks jaywalking fine

Gigantic Elvis Wig

Awwww.

LONDON - Percy and Florence Arrowsmith, who celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary Wednesday, say the secrets of the world's longest marriage are don't sleep on an argument, always share a kiss and hold hands before going to bed.

Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary